Victoria's Lost Reefs Rediscovered

Getting shellfish reefs back into Port Phillip Bay

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15 minutes by boat from inner Melbourne’s Docklands pier lies Margaret’s Reef under 10 metres of Port Phillip Bay seawater. While this might not seem unusual, it is a very positive sign of the resurrection of one of the Bay’s former marine habitats that, until recently, had been completely removed from the local seascape.

Lost Reefs

Port Phillip Bay contains a wide range of marine habitats like leafy seagrass meadows, hard temperate coral outcrops, colourful sponge gardens and vast underwater sandy plains. A hundred years ago it was also home to extensive oyster and mussel reefs that supported a huge range of other sea life including fish, crabs, sea squirts, snails and sponges. Sadly, after many years of over exploitation, pollution, introduced species and disease, these shellfish reefs disappeared.

With support from the local community, including recreational fishers and commercial shellfish growers, and many different corporate partners* we’re rebuilding the Bay’s shellfish reefs in two main locations: Margaret’s Reef in Hobsons Bay, off St Kilda and Wilsons Spit Reef at Geelong Arm.

Restoring lost shellfish reefs to Port Philip Bay
good for the marine environment, great for water quality and important for local fisheries.

The reefs are constructed starting with a base of hundreds of tonnes of limestone rocks and/or recycled seafood shells acquired as part of our Shuck Don’t Chuck project. On top of this we scatter hundreds of thousands of hatchery-reared juvenile mussels or Australian Flat Oysters grown at the Victorian Shellfish Hatchery in Queenscliff and elsewhere. Here the young shellfish settle and continue to grow, establishing themselves in their new homes and attracting in all the other species that join them in creating a fully functioning shellfish reef.

We're continuing to monitor the progress of the 2.5 hectares of new reef we’ve created. From the video below you can see things are looking good so far.

Looking to the Future

We’ve got big plans for the future! We’re formulating longer-term plans to implement a larger-scale restoration program in Port Phillip Bay and elsewhere in Victoria. Our vision is to reinstate around 500 hectares of these lost reefs (equivalent to 700 soccer pitches) around the Victorian coastline, and we hope to continue to work with the Victorian Government and other partners to achieve this with the aim of creating self-sustaining shellfish reefs, boosting fish populations and providing cleaner water for nature and people to enjoy.